If Leicester Tigers players felt that July was a tough month out on the training field, things might be about to get even tougher.

The pre-season stage enters its final phase over the next few weeks as Tigers prepare for a brace of warm-up games against the Ospreys, split by a visit from Treviso.

But ahead of the first clash with the Welsh region, at Bridgend on Friday, the players will be based in south Wales where they will undergo a training camp.

Tigers’ forwards coach Richard Blaze says the squad has progressed well since returning to training on July 3.

And while the pre-season games are now looming, the major target lies just beyond that trio of fixtures – the Premiership kick-off on September 3 when Tigers host Bath.

“Pre-season is different for everyone,” he said.

Tigers forwards coach Richard Blaze is happy with the way the new boys are settling in Picture - David Rogers/Getty Images

“The main thing is that we need to get people on the field for the Bath game with everyone available.

“We are in pretty good shape in that respect.

“Pre-season from a physicality point of view is going to get ramped up in the next couple of weeks. Obviously we have our first pre-season game against the Ospreys coming up and that will probably give us some indication where we are.”

He added that there was also a growing feeling among players and coaches of wanting to get into the playing programme.

“A lot of the boys don’t necessarily enjoy the first couple of weeks but that begins to taper down and we start to do the rugby bits,” he said. “The guys get fed up with pre-season and just want to start. We are the same as coaches.”

The former Tigers and Worcester player added that the work put in by players in pre-season now is quite different to what he experienced as a player before he retired in 2010.

“It is very individualised to the player,” Blaze explained. “The strength and conditioning staff and the medical do a great job here. They will know all the metres, loads etc so we will obviously cater for that when we plan the training sessions.

“It is more about the individual management of the players. It is still tough and gritty, you put your head in the wrong places and there is the side of it where you need to take the guys to a dark place. But it is about getting them ready for the start of the season.

“The physical demands of rugby are a lot different from a few years ago when I was playing.”